Let Our Allentown Trip and Fall Lawyers Help In Pennsylvania, stairway defects often lead to trip and fall injuries. Had the property owner (or builder, in some cases) properly evaluated these hazards and corrected them in a timely manner, then the injuries might have been prevented. If you’ve been injured in a trip and fall accident due to the existence of a stairway defect, then you could be entitled to significant compensation. If the defect is not obvious (i.e., broken steps), then the defendant is likely to argue that the steps were not, in fact, dangerous. In many cases, the central point of conflict is whether or not there was a defect-based stairway hazard. Consider the following. Tread Surface Issues Tread surfaces (i.e., the top of each step) are particularly prone to defects, many of which may not be obvious upon a brief visual inspection. When the surface is excessively smooth or rough in relation to what is “customary” and thus represents an unexpected departure from the norm, this can be a serious tripping hazard. Loose items left on tread surfaces can also contribute to the danger, particularly if the adjacent riser leaves a shadow that hides the loose item from the stairway user. Inadequate Lighting Inadequate lighting is a problem that many property owners may not realize affect the safety of a stairway, as the light source is often a distance away from the stairway itself. For example, in a restaurant setting, customers may be reliant on a light […]
Resources
Category: Trip and Fall
Generally speaking, Pennsylvania landowners have a duty to maintain their property in reasonably safe condition for premises entrants, and to either correct dangerous conditions of property (e.g. hazards) or warn premises entrants of such hazards. If you tripped and fell on the defendant’s property due to some hidden hazard, such as a loose floor tile, then you could potentially sue and recover damages pursuant to standard premises liability rules. Things get a bit more complicated when the injury takes place on land that was made available to the public for recreational purposes. Pennsylvania shields landowners from liability in certain limited circumstances with the “recreational immunity,” which is intended to encourage landowners to keep their land available for public use. Let’s take a look at the basics. How the Recreational Immunity Works In Pennsylvania, recreational immunity is granted by the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act. The Act ensures that landowners can benefit from immunity to injury liability for trip and fall incidents (and other premises-related injuries) occurring on the property at-issue so long as the landowner allowed the general public to access the land for a recreational purpose. Simply put, the recreational immunity prevents the imposition of liability on landowners for failing to correct hazards or to warn premises entrants of hazards, unless the hazard was known to the landowner (before the injury occurred). Confused? We’ll put this all into context with a quick example. Suppose that you trip and fall while sitting on a dock on the defendant’s […]
